I also do drive thru and can't hear... i constantly have to plug my other ear & everyone is also screaming in my ear at the same time "DO THEY WANT IT WARMED". I was told once you get use to the different orders you can hear things clear idk about that so for now i plug my other ear 😂🙃

This might be an obvious one, but I was never taught how the headsets worked... I went MONTHS not knowing that you can adjust the volume. That discovery was a game changer!!

Though even with the volume at max, there will always be the customers who mumble, order from the passenger seat, have crazy loud cars, etc. In those cases, I’ve found it’s best to just be straightforward that you can’t hear them. Usually they’ll be understanding and fix the problem. Or they’ll get annoyed and yell... but hey, at least they yell loud enough to hear their order lol.

It’s definitely a struggle, I do think it gets easier as you get more familiar with the menu/things someone might be asking for, but I definitely notice times when I’m like what did they say and everyone else can hear it just fine. I’ve also found that when I’m wearing the headset, but not on drive I can sometimes hear it better, I think sometimes it’s that same kind of listening but planning what to say/ask and also figuring out what buttons to press that we’re not able to listen as well. I’ve definitely been close to snapping at the other baristas to stop being so loud when they’re goofing around on bar and making it harder to hear, but I never actually do because I don’t want to give people more reason to not like me.

Changing the volume is helpful. Also remember you control the pace and can ask them to repeat. Look for other people's help too.

Honestly, I struggled too but got very comfortable saying "sorry, I'm not hearing you there, do you mind really shouting that out for me?" In an almost jokey way. Also 3 years in to the job I say things like "sorry I'm pretty new to this" or "oops bit too fast for me" also almost jokingly. 9 times out of 10 these work pretty well but worst case scenario you may just have to tell them to come round to the window where you'll get their order since you're struggling to hear them.

At the end of the day don't stress out about it. I say this with as much love for my job as possible: it really doesn't matter, its just coffee and cakes and if anyone is getting mad at you then they likely have some sort of personality disorder.

The Frappuccino thing is RIGHT BEHIND ME when I’m on drive so I feel your pain. Honestly I would say always check to make sure the volume is up

Sometimes (magically) different headsets produce higher volumes. Each shift turn the volume button up to it’s max. If someone’s window is down, they’re ordering from the passenger side, their head is turned away, or they’re not speaking loud enough do not hesitate to let them know you want to make it right for them and need them (the driver) to speak up please. I found that if I can’t hear and my partners are being too loud, I’ll go to the BOH to hear the customer better. Always repeat the order though, and sometimes I end with, “is all of that right?” Just be friendly and they’ll gladly (fingers crossed) speak up for you.

It just takes a lot of practice, getting used to a new environment/system takes time. Hang in there!

It is the most basic amount of respect to be quiet when someone is taking an order. If you’re getting a lot of background conversation, just ask the other head set wearers nicely to let you listen to the whole order. Easy way to make sure you’re not missing anything on the order is to repeat it back to them/ask them to check over the screen on their end.
You’re still going to have customers tell you you’re wrong after it was verified, but it’s all you can do!

I had similar struggles when I first started working drive-thru, but over time and being the typical person on window, it got better.

Definitely try adjusting the volume if you haven't already. Repeat EVERYTHING back and get their confirmation. It's okay to politely ask the customer to repeat what they said or speak up as well. And again, time. I eventually just got used to what all the garbled noises meant despite crappy headset quality.

Trust me, your ears will get better 😂 I'm not kidding! When I was rehired at Starbucks during COVID last October, I couldn't hear ANYBODY from behind the plexiglass, and the masks made it worse. But seriously, your ears will train themselves and your hearing will get better over the next month or so.

It's like in elementary school when we had to learn square dancing. They would put on an old record (yes, a vinyl record) and play some weird-ass square dancing music that had lyrics that NO ONE could understand. The more we listened to the terrible music, the better we got at understanding the "do-see-dos" and whatever weird lyrics there were.

You’re gonna have to be able to listen and act at the same time, listen to orders while taking payment and retain what was just said. Headset is a skill that can be difficult to master, but it’s a gem when working with a large team. It’s hard to do two things at once but practice doing one with with your hands and another with your mouth. Also, don’t forget which button to press or you’ll broadcast to the box and say something customers don’t wanna hear.

I feel you. I either understand them 100% or not at all. Mostly the latter.